Before having kids, Ivan and I always agreed on the fact that they should be raised with a good work ethic. Our moms both did a pretty good job of making sure we helped out around the house. So it would only be fair if we passed those same values down to our kids. And since Mariah is pretty mobile and capable these days, we figured we might as well start early.
Mariah’s chores begin the moment she arrives home from her dayjob. When daddy brings her in from the car, she knows it is her responsibility to press the garage door button and has her hand outstretched waiting to complete the task. Once inside, Mariah often spends a few minutes removing all of the shoes from the coat closet before making her way into the kitchen. If mommy is unloading the dishwasher, Mariah quickly does her part by handing me one piece of cutlery at a time, muttering to herself as she does. I then return the favour by passing her one recyclable object at a time, which she carefully takes to the bin and dumps inside before returning for a high five. Then she moves on to her routine inspection of the house to see what else needs to be done. Mariah can often be found in the pantry, where she likes to re-arrange my perfectly categorized shelves. It used to be logical to check the baking shelf for sugar or the tea shelf for earl grey…but now Ivan & I need to search the entire pantry for the items Mariah has moved around. She must have gotten her chores mixed up last week since we found garlic in a shoe! (But Ivan says Mariah was just protecting the house from vampires). If we, i.e. Ivan, are busy cooking dinner, Mariah tries to help by pulling out the mixing bowls and stirring invisible ingredients together. Once dinner is served, Mariah reminds us that she’s not a baby by refusing to wear a bib, yet insisting that she feeds herself with a combination of her hands and the spoon (which appears highly uncoordinated and ineffective). She then requests a couple of mandarin oranges or a banana, which she eats like a grown up in its entirety, for dessert.
Finally, Mariah leads us upstairs to unwind a bit. She gladly gets into her bath and meticulously stacks and unstacks her bath toys. Afterward, she insists that I put some body lotion on her hands so she can help apply it to herself. Mariah wanders around in her pajamas for a while – catching a few minutes of her favourite shows and playing with her favourite toys. Then she and daddy begin their new nightly exercise ritual. Ivan does his 20-minute workout of push-ups, sit-ups, weights, and stretches... and Mariah follows along every step of the way. She’s actually pretty good at mimicking the actions, while avoiding being hit by swinging dumbbells. And eventually, when daddy has drained the last bit of energy out of her, Mariah joins mommy for a snuggle on the couch where we both crash before heading to our beds.
